In this week's Stats and Stuff, Ward Clayton sums up the Safeway Classic Presented by Coca-Cola and breaks down the CN Canadian Women's Open
Pettersen’s streaks
Suzann Pettersen has won consecutive events, the Ladies Irish Open on the Ladies European Tour and last week’s Safeway Classic on the LPGA Tour. In each win, she finished with a 64 which included a total of 13 birdies, an eagle and no bogeys (15-under par). At the Ladies Irish Open, she set the Killeen Castle, Ireland course record with a third-round 63 on the course that will be the host site for the Solheim Cup.
Pettersen hasn’t missed a cut in 39 starts, dating back to a missed cut at the 2009 Ricoh Women’s British Open. She has also won more than $1 million in each of the last five seasons.
Pettersen’s comeback
When Suzann Pettersen rallied from nine strokes behind in the final round to win the Safeway Classic in a playoff last week, it marked the second-largest comeback in LPGA Tour history. The record comeback of 10 strokes is held by the following:
- Mickey Wright, 1964 Tall City Open, shot final-round 62
- Annika Sorenstam, 2001 The Office Depot Hosted by Amy Alcott, shot final-round 66
- Louise Friberg, 2008 MasterCard Classic Honoring Alejo Peralta Presented by Nextel, shot final-round 65
All of the above ended up in a playoff except for Friberg’s victory by one stroke over Yani Tseng.
U.S. Team Solheim Cup Notes
Juli Inkster, 51, had already won 13 tournaments and four major championships by the time Michelle Wie and Vicky Hurst were born. Wie and Hurst, the youngest players on this year’s U.S. Solheim Cup team, are the same age as Inkster’s older daughter, Hayley…There are no 40-year-olds on this year’s U.S. team, which ranges in age from 21 to 51, with nine 20-year olds. Cristie Kerr and Angela Stanford are the 30-year olds…The United States Solheim Cup team is comprised of five of the current longest drivers on the LPGA Tour – No. 2 Michelle Wie, No. 4 Ryann O’Toole, No. 5 Brittany Lincicome, No. 9 Brittany Lang and No. 10 Vicky Hurst.
Stellar CN Canadian Women’s Open field a Canadian challenge
The CN Canadian Women's Open field this week includes all 50 of the top money leaders on the LPGA Tour and 97 of the top 100. That should make the task of winning the title at Hillsdale Country Club more difficult for 18 Canadians looking to become the first Canadian winner of a LPGA Tour event in Canada since Jocelyne Bourassa won in 1973 at La Canadienne Golf Championship. The men’s Canadian Open has a longer drought for a Canadian winner of the national championship, as Pat Fletcher in 1954 is the last Canadian to capture the title.
The Canadian participants this week include Isabelle Beisiegel, Kirby Dreher, Augusta James, Sara Maude Juneau, Lorie Kane, Jisoo Keel, Anna Kim, Maude-Aimee Leblanc, Rebecca Lee-Bentham, Lisa Meldrum, Danielle Mills, Samantha Richdale, Alena Sharp, Jessica Shepley, Stephanie Sherlock, Nicole Vandermade, Jessica Wallace and Adrienne White.
Michelle Wie’s 100th
Michelle Wie, who turns 22 in October, made her 100th career start on the LPGA Tour last week at the Safeway Classic. In those starts, 52 have come as a professional and more than 30 percent (31) have resulted in top-10 finishes. A breakdown of her career by the numbers:
- 2 wins (2009 Lorena Ochoa Invitational, 2010 CN Canadian Women’s Open)
- 8 runner-up finishes
- 31 top-10 finishes
- $2,162,541 in earnings (in 52 pro starts)
- 8 PGA Tour starts, 2004-2008 (8 missed cuts)
- 64: Low score on the LPGA Tour at 2010 P&G Northwest Arkansas Classic
- 68: Low score on the PGA Tour at 2004 and 2006 Sony Open in Hawaii
Wie will be making her 101st career start this week at the CN Canadian Women’s Open.
Michelle Wie’s Canadian title defense
Last year at St. Charles Country Club in Winnipeg, Michelle Wie won her second career title by holding at least a share of the lead after every round. A string of three consecutive birdies on the back nine (including a chip-in birdie on the 15th to culminate the streak) led to a three-stroke win. Wie nearly won the following tournament, the P&G Northwest Arkansas Classic, finishing second. She shot a career-low 64 in the second round to take a three-stroke lead but was passed Yani Tseng’s final-round 65.
In her only previous LPGA title defense, at the 2010 Lorena Ochoa Invitational, Wie shot a first-round 78 and was forced to withdraw with a back injury.
Beisiegel in Canadian field after men’s starts
Isabelle Beisiegel is in the field at this week’s CN Canadian Women’s Open after making headlines earlier in the year by becoming the first woman to earn status on a men’s tour, the Canadian Tour. Beisegel, 32, earned non-exempt status on the Canadian Tour by shooting 75-78-68-75 in the May spring qualifier to finish tied for ninth. The former University of Oklahoma golfer has made the field for four men’s events, the ATB Financial Classic (78-70, missed cut), Dakota Dunes Casino Open (73-76, missed cut), Canadian Tour Players Cup (81-73, missed cut) and last week’s Seaforth Country Classic (69-73, missed cut). Beisiegel also attempted to qualify for the PGA Tour in 2004, the first woman to play in that event. She was the medalist at the 2003 LPGA Qualifying School in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Beisiegel, who is from Sainte Hilaire, Quebec, was among the players who were granted exemptions to compete at the 2011 CN Canadian Women’s Open in Mirabel, Quebec. Beisiegel has not played in a LPGA Tour event since the 2006 season because of health issues, and has a career-best finish of T7 at the 2004 Kellogg-Keebler Classic. She has played on the Canadian Women’s Tour and the LPGA Futures Tour this year also.
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